moving on beyond the past

I remember a time in my life when my heart was broken from a failed relationship. After a few months of processing my feelings, I opened my heart and was ready to give myself a chance at life again. Many of my acquaintances, however, wanted to know all the juicy details of what went wrong and how it all happened. Each time I was asked, I respectfully indulged their desire to know the story behind my broken heart. And with each retelling, the act became more and more tiresome. Eventually, I started to tell people, “I’m sorry. I know your questions are sincere and that you have a genuine interest in making sense of my past, but my determination to close this chapter of my life requires me to stop telling this story over and over again.” Once I made that change, my journey was on its way forward again, and I was able to fully release my pain.

Here’s today’s two cents:

Don’t let another person’s curiosity get in the way of your opportunity to overcome the traumatic experiences that have happened to you.

You have a right to let go of your past and if you’re not ready to let it go, then you have the right to process your memories and emotions on your own terms.

Either way, don’t allow yourself to be held hostage by unjustified demands for information about your private life.

If YOU still need to discuss your past in order to gain healing or closure, that’s fine. But make sure the discussions are for YOU and YOUR benefit.